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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind, don't matter, and those who matter, don't mind. ~Dr. SeussGirls just wanna have fun ~ Cyndi Lauper Make some fun, happy time ~ Alex Ovechkin

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Ladies, What Do You Want?

As some of you may know, I occasionally write posts for Scarlet Caps. Once again, they have asked me for a post submission. Knowing how a majority of my followers feel about the website and its posts, I thought I'd give y'all a chance to let me know what you would actually like to read on the Scarlet Caps blog. And, if you've never read any of the blog posts there, what would send you there for the first time?

So, serious question: Is there a topic you really want to know about? I'd love to hear any and all suggestions. I'd like to write a post for them that you all would actually read and maybe even comment on! If you really couldn't care less about the blog posts on Scarlet Caps, I totally understand, no problem, carry on. Just one thing though, as a writer for Scarlet Caps, I do not get any insider information, personal access to players or private interviews. It has to be about something I can research for you or something you always wondered about in regards to hockey, stuff like that.

And if you're thinking I'm being lazy about coming up with a topic myself, all I can say is...maybe.

So, since my usual signoff on posts is a sarcastic "Any questions?” this time I would really love some actual questions from you. Hit me with your ideas/suggestions/questions/comments in the comments, or on Twitter at @Caps_Girl or on Facebook (if you came here through there), or by email if you have my address, whatever. If Scarlet Caps is really about hockey from a woman's perspective, let's make it happen.

10 comments:

I would love to hear what Scarlet Caps' mission statement is, for lack of a better term...what are they really trying to do for the female hockey fan and how are they going about meeting their goals?

The site seems to be updated inconsistently, watch parties hastily thrown together, and event details over-promised.

If "Scarlet Caps" has a plan for how to get from start-to-finish, it would be great to know so those of us watching hockey "from a woman's perspective" can help them meet those goals (or sit back and laugh hysterically which, the organizers may not realize, is what happens now).

...and if such plan doesn't exist right now, maybe an article would help get one started.

YCJ, you are dead on the nose. I know my fellow SC bloggers have discussed this and apparently, they have had panels that have discussed this too. Sadly, I'm not sure if they know they get scoffed at. You'd think if they did, changes would happen. Not sure if involving me in blogging was a way to do that, but if it was, I'd like to get something started to improve it.

For one, lose the "From a woman's perspective" tagline. It's irritating to me because isn't my perspective automatically from a "woman's" perspective? It's implying that hockey is by default seen from a male viewpoint, whether or not that's what they're going for.

I understand that part (perhaps a large part?) of their target audience is women who want to learn the game and don't know where to start. I think that's awesome to help them and bring them in. It's just that everything comes off kind of patronizing, like they have to hold your hand through every bit of information while showing you cute pictures of the players to hold your interest or something.

So I guess my suggestion would be to start catering a little to the female hockey fans who already know the game. They could have articles that really dive deeper into the game and the players instead of writing about what icing is, for example.

K- you're right, it is a cheesy tagline and does imply that the default viewpoint is male. I also think they should be beyond needing to educate new fans, but that is still one of their objectives. So,I would like to write post that helps newbies learn the game as well as be interesting to long time more knowledgeable fans, without coming off as patronizing.If you could have an article that really dove deeper into the game and appealed to you as a knowledgeable fan, what would you like to read? That's exactly what I'd like to write for them and would love to know!

I would have to brainstorm a little to give you more ideas but off the top of my head, I love reading about plays and the different systems that teams play. They did it for a little bit on Caps Red Line where a player would use the rink board to demonstrate a specific type of play. It's interesting and informative. When I was first learning the game, people would explain plays to me, like zone defense or the trap. It helped me get the sport faster rather than explaining one part at a time, like this is a slapshot.

Until today, honestly I've honestly never really read the Scarlet Caps blog. I did take a look before commenting and it's not that bad. The thing that bugs me the most about the organization is the activities they put together. When they invite the male fans to the cookie exchange, I'll take them more seriously and not be as insulted.

I agree with Yocallejo's comment. I've be very interested in what the overall goal is for this "club". If it's just to try to sell me tickets or take my money for "exclusive" events, then I'll pass. If it's in any way an attempt to actually build a group of female Caps fans, then I'll keep trying.

This may be a little late to the game but here two ideas for articles/blog posts:

1. What’s the purpose of Club Scarlet? If it’s just to have an umbrella organization in place to host Hockey N Heels twice a year then let’s be honest about that. If it really wants to be something else there’s a lot of work to do!

2. Give me News of the Day! When I have time to surf the web for hockey news that’s what I’m looking for! What’s happened in the world of hockey in the last 24 hours? What’s going on at Kettler during practices? What’s going to happen if the Caps don’t make the playoffs this year? Personally I don’t need a history lesson or Hockey 101 information. I can get that by going to Wiki.

I became a hockey fan because I’m a sports fan. And I see myself as a sports fan. Not a FEMALE sports fan. Just a sports fan. My evolution with the game of hockey was simple and quick—I had a friend give me the most basics of basics and then I just watched and listened. It didn’t take long to see the patterns and put together what I was hearing with what I was seeing.

I became a Club Scarlet fan when I found the website, quite by accident, a little over a year ago. I thought it would help me meet other women who were just as excited about hockey as I was, but that hasn’t been the case. From the replies above it seems very clear that if Club Scarlet wants to be relevant to the Caps female fan base they need to have a mission and a plan. They need to do more than Hockey N Heels twice a year.

Updates would be helpful! The last entry under News & Events is dated Nov. 10 of last year! That’s three months ago! If there haven’t been any events in the last three months why would I check back anytime soon?

I get so much information from so many different sources there would have to be something really compelling to make Club Scarlet a regular part of my browsing. When I look at the blog page and see almost a month between blog entries why would I check back tomorrow?

There also doesn’t seem to be any way to get in touch with anyone “in charge.” The Feedback box doesn’t seem to work. At least I’ve never gotten an answer to any feedback I’ve given. If I can’t communicate with the people running the Club why would I want to continue to be a member?

I would love to see Club Scarlet become something relevant in the world of Caps Hockey. How about an article about the best way to make that happen? Get us involved! We love our Caps and anything we can do to spread the word we’ll do!

Follow up to all the comments - I just wanted you all to know that I did pass along your comments and suggestions to the Club Scarlet people. Hopefully, they write a post or something explaining their purpose/mission statement so members will understand their true intent. Unfortunately, not being true insiders in the Capitals organization, I and my fellow non-intern/non-employee contributors to their blog are really not in a position to write this, it needs to come from the organization itself. I'm sure it will at least be a topic for discussion. Thank you all for your comments and suggestions here.

I'm glad you passed on all the comments. I think the best way for the "Club Scarlet people" to improve the Club is allow folks like me (and others who have replied here) to get in touch with them. They seem to be a very elusive group. Would love to know the secret password! Or at the very least at "Contact Us" tab on the website.

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I'm Just a Girl

is a Washington Capitals hockey fan who enjoys long walks on the beach, Belgian beer, stalking from behind a camera lens, good snark and has an unhealthy obsession with hockey goalies and baseball catchers. Her favorite color is Caps red and her one wish is for Whirled Peas...Any questions?

Legally Blonde

The Blonde Girl's Guide is in no way affiliated with the Washington Capitals, the NHL, or its Properties. All posts are for entertainment purposes only and the opinion of the author unless otherwise noted.